


Giving Things a New Meaning

by Summer_Dusk



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 01:59:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14906268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Summer_Dusk/pseuds/Summer_Dusk
Summary: While browsing at Yafush Antiques Nia gives off some mixed signals about her feelings regarding the Ardainian bear carvings. Mòrag decides to investigate.





	Giving Things a New Meaning

**Author's Note:**

> When I read that the Ardanian bear carving was one of Nia's fave pouch items I immediately thought of this small scenario~  
> After listening to her voice line though I was just like "bruh, it's not that deep" XD  
> I bet someone out there is gonna enjoy this so I uploaded it anyway~  
> This plays pre-Elpys for a change.

Nia narrowed her eyes as she took a long and close look at the hand crafted bear figure in her hands.

“You like it? It’s only 1008 gold!” Milligan, the shop keeper, told her with a big smile.

“Only? That’s a hella lot of money.”, Nia replied. “We are five people travelling with our blades, do you know how much we spend on food?”

“Alright, alright.” Milligan raised her hands in apparent defeat, but she kept her smile when she returned behind the counter.

Nia eyed her suspiciously before she returned her attention to the figure. She ran her finger alongside its head and ears. The craftsmanship was remarkable, there was so much detail carved into the wood, that it made the eyes almost seem alive and as if the fur was real.

“Each of them is individual, no two figures are the same!”, Milligan shouted from across the room.

“Oh, shut it! I’m not gonna buy anything!”, Nia answered brusquely and the shop keeper turned away with a giggle. Yet, she turned to take a look at the other figures, each in a different pose. One was standing up on two feet, the other sitting – the one she was holding stood on all fours. And there, there was one standing on all fours, accompanied by a cub. Nia couldn’t help but touch it, run her hand along the back and feel the carvings on the cold smooth wood. There was so much detail and love in the way the ears connected to the head and how they stood up. She touched them with her fingers, but not before making sure that this damned shop keeper was looking elsewhere.  
  
They were cute. Utterly, adorably, undeniably cute.  
And they reminded her of the one back in her father’s mansion… She distinctly remembered the glass cabinet he had kept it in, together with all the other works of art. She had always wanted to reach out and hold it in her hands… and once, she had.  
_This is not a toy!_ he had shouted with an unpreceded anger in his eyes.

“Do you intend to buy one of these?”, a voice close behind her asked and Nia jumped and almost dropped the bear because she got lost in her thoughts for a second there.

“I already told you – “  
Nia turned around with an angry expression and when she saw Mòrag instead of the shop keeper she had expected, she almost jumped again. “I won’t.”, she ended with a frown, trying to sound a little bit more calm than she felt.

There was a smile on Mòrag’s face and Nia had the strong feeling that the Ardainian woman knew that she had caught her by surprise.  
“The Ardainian craftsmanship is truly remarkable.”, Mòrag said and her gaze fell on the bear in Nia’s hand. “Don’t you agree?”

“Pshaw! The Gormotti are far better when it comes to woodwork!”, Nia said and sat the bear figure down next to the others again.

“They certainly do make remarkable furniture.”, Mòrag agreed. “But I believe our country fares better when it comes to detail.”

“You could’ve just agreed, y’know.” Nia crossed her arms. “Anyway, let’s leave.”

Mòrag raised an eyebrow. “You are not going to buy it?”

“It’s too expensive.”

“I could have sworn you would have gone with it anyway, considering how much time you spent looking at it.” Mòrag’s words were a simple statement.

Nia’s gold eyes were wide open with surprise. “How long were you watching me?!”, she shouted and while she did seem very, very angry, in truth she just felt very, very embarrassed. Nia felt her cheeks grow warm, probably blushing, and she was sure that Mòrag was aware of that.

Mòrag ignored Nia’s little outburst. “We have been through a lot. Our travels are exhausting and we fight daily. You should treat yourself to something nice every once in a while. I’m sure we can afford it, we have been quite diligent in our efforts to help people out and our blades were much successful too in their mercenary work.”

It surprised Nia to hear such words from the Special Inquisitor, since she had pegged Mòrag to be one of those people who were married to their work, the kind of people who never relaxed, let alone treated themselves to something nice. She knew the other woman was right, but was reluctant to admit it. She gave the wooden bears another look and shook her head. “I don’t want one.”

“Why?”

Nia furrowed her brows. “Because they are too damn perfect!”, she huffed and with that she held her head high with pride and strode past Mòrag and outside the shop.

“Too… perfect?” Mòrag just stood there and watched her team mate leave with mild confusion.

* * *

 

“I didn’t know that you had taken up a new hobby, Lady Mòrag.”, Brighid commented with mild amusement when she saw her driver working on a piece of wood with a sharp dagger.  
It was evening and most of their female companions, blades and a certain Gormotti driver alike, wanted to make use of their stay at Jakolo’s inn and the hot spring it offered. Mòrag on the other hand had had other plans, which is why she sat on the inn’s rooftop, apart from everyone else.

“It is surprisingly relaxing.”, Mòrag replied with a little smile. She stopped her work to look over her hometown and watch the setting sun. “I can work with an empty mind and it is very peaceful up here.”

“I can see that.” Brighid smiled back and took a seat next to her driver. “I do wonder what prompted you though. Carving is not exactly a common thing to do for someone who isn’t familiar with the craft.”, she said while she overlooked Alba Cavaninch too. The rays of the setting sun felt comfortably warm on her skin.

“That’s true.”, Mòrag agreed and looked at the piece of wood in her hand. Carving a bear was more difficult than she had imagined, despite having the strength in her arm to work on it for a long period at a time. The shape had finally started to become more distinct: the legs, the body and the head were starting to distinguish themselves from the original piece of wood, but Mòrag was aware that her little project would never be as beautiful as the works Nia had beheld a day ago.  
“I saw Nia at Yafush Antiques yesterday and she seemed quite fond of the bear carvings there.”, she explained thoughtfully.

“Oh?” Brighid turned to her driver, surprised. “So instead of buying one you make her one?” And before Mòrag could answer, Brighid had already come up with a perfectly logical explanation: “That’s quite the dedication to win the affection of a woman.”

“That’s not it.” was Mòrag’s immediate reply, but she averted her gaze from Brighid, looking timid all of a sudden.  
Brighid smiled and waited patiently and soon enough, Mòrag went on with her explanation: “For a moment, her expression turned pensive and I thought that this was because she considered getting one, so I asked her.”

“And she said no?”, Brighid guessed.

Her driver nodded. “She said it was too expensive and when I told her that we had earned enough money lately, she simply stated again that she doesn’t want one.”

“Maybe you just misunderstood then?”, the flame-blade suggested.

“I considered that, but…” Mòrag remembered Nia’s look when she thought herself unwatched; there clearly had been a fondness in her gaze before it turned so thoughtful. “No, there must be something else.” She turned her eyes back to the wooden bear she was making and resumed her work. “When she left she said they were ‘too perfect’…”

All of a sudden Brighid laughed. “Well, if that’s the problem she will certainly accept your creation.”

Mòrag frowned. “I am well aware, Brighid.”, she said, a subtle threat in her voice.

* * *

 

The past few days had been exhausting.  
Nia stood once again at the gates of Torigoth, considering whether she should take a walk alone or not. She was tired and everyone had been getting on her nerves today, especially Tora and Rex who had disregarded her warnings of taking on a certain Sauros… She huffed when she thought about the ordeal.  
According to rumours Territorial Rotbart was acting up again, so maybe it was for the best if she just stayed inside town tonight. However, it had been a while since they had last been to Gormott and she really felt the need to take a nice walk through the plains and enjoy the view of the glowing World Tree during the night.

“Nia, may I have a word with you?”, Mòrag’s voice asked behind her.

Nia turned around to look her party member in the face. The Ardainian woman didn’t seem much concerned, so Nia guessed it was nothing serious. She was the only one who hadn’t annoyed her lately – not only because she thought ahead when she engaged an enemy, but also because she had seemed very busy with something else during their leisure time in the evenings and hadn’t engaged much with the others anyway. “Sure, but only if you accompany me.”

“Where to?”

The Gormotti pointed towards Lascham Islands. “Over there.” Usually she would have taken a shortcut over the large root that connected Torigoth Arch to the small area, but the cloud sea stood high and she did not wish to swim the way.

Mòrag nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”, she replied and together they stepped out of Torigoth.

“Where did you leave Brighid?”, Nia asked curiously.

“At the inn.” was the short answer.

Nia raised an eyebrow but did not comment on that any further. She was curious as to what Mòrag could possibly have to discuss with her alone and for the fraction of a second, something very specific came to her mind. Her cheeks reddened and for whatever reason she could not fathom, she thought it was a good idea to look at Mòrag in that very moment. Mòrag, of course, responded to that with a glance on her own and to Nia’s surprise, it was the Special Inquisitor herself who looked away first.  
Was she…?  
No, Nia thought to herself. No way she had looked away because she was embarrassed, right? Why would she be embarrassed?! Nia’s brain ran at full speed now. Suddenly, she regretted picking such a nearby spot to walk to.

When they arrived at Lascham, Nia walked her way uphill until she stood on the edge of the cliff. She had her back turned to Mòrag and watched the glowing crown of the World Tree with a satisfied smile. A warm breeze wafted from the cloud sea towards her.

“What a sight…”, Mòrag whispered astonished.

“This place has a great view and is easy to reach.”, Nia said. A good place for some alone time, but that she did not want to say that aloud in case Mòrag misunderstood. This reminded her that the other woman had had something on her mind before they had left Torigoth.

“Sooo? What is it you wanted to talk about?”, she asked uneasily, now staring a bit too intensely at the World Tree. There was a moment of silence and then she heard how Mòrag took something out of her pockets, a noise that made Nia’s ears prick up unconsciously.

“I wanted to give you this.”

“Hm?” Nia turned around curiously and took a look at what Mòrag was holding in both her hands. It was a wooden bear figurine. At least that’s what Nia thought it was supposed to be; she couldn’t say for sure. She took it in her hands and eyed it carefully. It was a bear, four legs, bulky body shape – and the tail, oh gosh that one was really cutely done. She lifted her eyes to look at Mòrag. “I… don’t understand.”

“Well, since you found those in Alba Cavanich ‘too perfect’ I thought I’d make you one myself.”

Nia snorted. “Yeah, that one’s far from perfect, that’s for sure.”, she said amused. Then she realized what Mòrag had just said. “Wait, you _made_ this one?”

“Indeed.”, Mòrag confirmed.

“But… why?” Nia was confused. Why would Mòrag go through all that trouble, just because of one of her little rants?

“I thought it may help improve the relationship between Mor Ardain and Gormott.”

Nia laughed. “Yeah, sure.” She paused, and changed between looking at Mòrag and the bear in her own hands. “So, what’s the real reason?”

“Well, the truth is that you weren’t very… convincing when you said you didn’t want to get that bear carving back in Alba Cavanich.”, Mòrag admitted.

Nia cocked her head. “That it? Why would you even care about that so much?”

There was a moment of silence in which Nia’s heart started to beat a little faster.

“I… don’t know.”, Mòrag finally answered. “You seemed to enjoy them very much, but suddenly you had that pensive look on your face – even before I spoke to you… We had the money and you obviously found them cute, it just did not make any sense to me.”

Nia’s ears drooped. “I see…” She sighed and turned her back to Mòrag again before she plopped down on the patch of grass.

Mòrag just stood there, not sure whether she should sit down too or leave.

Nia watched the World Tree and the starlit sky above her for a solid minute before she talked: “You see, my dad used to import and collect art from all over Alrest.”, she began. “And it was not only art: instruments, gemstones, curiosities never seen before in Gormott – you name it. And I, I was very fond of that Ardainian bear carving. It was made with love to detail, I could see that much. I always wanted to play with it, because I thought it was a real waste to let it sit in the cabinet. But dad… he always said no.” She paused for a moment to look at the small bear Mòrag had given her. “But you know me. I, of course, didn’t listen and took it anyway.”

Mòrag slowly approached and knelt down next to her in the grass, listening intently.

“He caught me, as you probably guessed. Gave me the biggest beating of my life.” She smiled for a moment, but it was an unhappy smile.

Mòrag noticed her expression and it brought a specific question to her mind: “It sounds like he cared more for his prized possessions than his daughter.”

Hearing this, Nia shook her head. “No, it wasn’t like that. He was very happy when he… had me.” She paused for a moment. “We had a good life, but things changed when my sister was born.”

She paused again, this time for far longer. Maybe she was getting lost in memories; her gaze was trailing off and she seemed to be somewhere far away, despite sitting right next to Mòrag. The Ardainian wondered if it was alright to pry any further, but she knew Nia well enough to know that she would deny further answers if she did not feel comfortable sharing more.  
“Why was that?”, she decided to ask.

Nia shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe because his wi – I mean, my ma died during her birth. Or maybe because my sister…” She froze suddenly. Mòrag had noticed that Nia initially hadn’t wanted to refer to her mother as such – had she been the child of another woman?  
Before she could ask anything, Nia had caught herself and continued on: “.... she was a very sickly kid. Maybe it was that, together with Ma’s loss that slowly started distorting him. He became very protective of me and from there on out it was ‘don’t do this’, ‘study that’, ‘take care of your sister’…” She absentmindedly pet the little figure’s back in her hand.  
  
“From there on we had quite a few arguments… Now that I think about it, I may have taken the bear out to play as some kind of revenge.” She stopped petting the figure and looked at her companion. “It was the first time dad yelled at me. And the only time he rose his hand against me… I never saw this much anger and hatred in his eyes before.” She lifted the corner of her mouth, trying to smile at Mòrag to show her that she was okay, but it was a sad story and she didn’t bother downplaying it.  
  
“The bears in Alba Cavanich must have been made by the same person, I’d recognize the way he carved the details from ten peds afar. When you saw me at the shop, looking all thoughtful and stuff, it was because they reminded me of that very situation…”, she ended with a weary sigh.

“So you didn’t buy them in the end, because you did not want to be reminded of the situation.”

“Yeah, because they were the exact same make.”

“Hence you calling them too perfect.”, Mòrag concluded. “I’m sorry.”, she added after some consideration. “It wasn’t my intention to dig out such unpleasant memories.”

Nia waved her words away. “No need to. You didn’t know and honestly… this lil’ guy does not _bear_ any resemblance to the one we had back in the mansion.” Her smile was more genuine now. “It’s actually really, um – it’s got its own unique charm.”, she said and held the bear up to her face.

“So, you like it?”, Mòrag asked.

Nia laughed. “How could I not like this remarkable Ardainian craftsmanship?”

“I know sarcasm when I hear it, Nia.” Mòrag warned her.

“No, I swear!” Nia turned to her now. “You’ve done a great job, especially with the tail. It’s really cute and…” That was a far better outcome, considering that she had feared a love confession coming – but she couldn’t say that.  
She felt her face grow warm. She had expected this talk to go way differently and instead she got an odd bear carving – honestly, looking at the situation from the outside it was ridiculous. Why the bloody hell had she even expected a love confession??

“And?” Mòrag pressed her on.

“And…” Nia didn’t know where to look. She tried averting her gaze sideways, but that didn’t help much, because she could still feel Mòrag’s threatening glance upon her. She blinked, noticing something in her memories and turned to face her companion. “I think that’s the first self-made gift I ever received.”, she added slowly. Not what she had had in mind moments ago, but it still held true. “Thank you. It means a lot to me.”

Mòrag just watched her, a little bit surprised at the gentle note this answer had ended on. Eventually, she gave Nia a soft smile. “You are welcome.”

Nia smiled back sheepishly. Unable to hold her gaze against Mòrag’s she averted her eyes again and looked at the wooden figure again. Oh, Architect, those silly round eyes… She supressed a chuckle and held the figure close to her heart. When she had seen those carvings back in Alba Cavanich she couldn’t help but associate them with her home and her father the longer she had stared at them, but this little guy… He certainly gave a new meaning to the Ardainian bear carving she used to love so much back in the days. It was impossible to look at this thing and not smirk.  
And it was even funnier to her that someone like Mòrag had managed to make something that looked so utterly hideous. Mòrag, who always gave off the impression that she could do anything perfectly and it was hilarious to Nia that she had proved the opposite with this.

She stood up eventually. “One thing is for sure. Next time I see those perfect carvings I’m gonna think about how you made me this one here, instead of my father.”

“A much more desirable memory, I presume.”

“Hah, yeah. This one’s definitely gonna make me smile in the future.” Carefully, Nia stored the little figure inside the pouch she always wore around the hip.

Mòrag followed suit and stood up as well. “We should head back. The others may start to worry about us.”, she said and started walking in Torigoth’s direction.

Nia stared after her and hesitated. She felt as if she hadn’t thanked Mòrag properly enough, considering how much the little gift meant to her and how much of what she had said about it had sounded very back-handed in context.  
The other woman was already quite a few steps ahead when Nia gave herself a push and ran after her.

Before Mòrag knew it something had wrapped its arms around her while bumping into her back. It took her a moment to notice the yellow jumper around her waist. She blinked and turned her head slowly around where she got a glimpse of Nia’s beige coloured ears.

“Thanks a lot.”, Nia mumbled into the other woman’s back. “For real.”

Mòrag couldn’t help but smile at the view. A bit awkwardly, she placed her hands on Nia’s. “Don’t mention it.”, she answered while she felt her cheeks grow warm.

Nia hugged her a little tighter and remained like that for a few long moments. Eventually, she let go and stepped to Mòrag’s side.  
“Come on now! If we stay here any longer that Territorial Rotbart may catch us!”, she said and grinned with so much joy that Mòrag needed a second to compose herself.

This time it was Nia who ran ahead, laughing and issuing a challenge of whoever reached the inn last would have to pay next day’s breakfast. Mòrag followed quickly, unable to withstand that smile, and raced her until they reached Torigoth’s gates.

**Author's Note:**

> This involved some personal headcanons about Nia's family, but it was very superficial bc I want to focus on that in another story at some point~


End file.
